


you are in love

by Xamem



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Short & Sweet, quarantine has me yearning so this is your problem now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xamem/pseuds/Xamem
Summary: Elliott is about to leave on his tour, and Emilia is determined to get an answer to her question before he leave - is he in love?
Relationships: Elliott/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 67





	you are in love

Elliott was in love, and he wasn’t going to tell Emilia who it was.

He hadn’t actually _said_ he’d been in love, but she knew. He’d seemed distracted lately, had been having more difficulty with his poetry. He’d lock himself in his cabin for hours, but when she asked what had come of it, he’d always tell her no, refuse to share. And he _always_ shared. The only explanation was love, that he had fallen deeply and didn’t want to tell her. Or maybe he wasn’t sure.

It hurt, of course. In the past year and a half since she’d moved to the Valley, Elliott had been her closest confidant. The first person she opened up to, the first person she turned to when she hurt. In turn, he’d let her into his life as well – telling her all about the past he had run from, his fears of publishing. They’d pushed each other, and now he was published. He had a contract, a tour.

He'd be leaving for said tour in two days, a month-long endeavor in Zuzu City. She was happy for him, of course, but it panged her heart to know they’d be apart for a month. It would be the longest they’d go without seeing each other since they’d first met.

“Excited?” Emilia asked. They were celebrating early as Elliott would have to catch a train at around three in the morning the day of his departure, and he’d want to go to bed early the night before. Most of celebrating had turned out to be packing, as Elliott was terrible, and kept getting distracted.

“Excited, yes. And terrified.” Elliott sighed as he folded one of his nicer coats, a deep burgundy that complimented his eyes. “What if they don’t like me? What if the book flops?”

Emilia took his hand, so much larger than her own, yet softer. Fingers, long and flexible from playing. She squeezed it gently, forcing him to look at her.

“They won’t hate it, Elliott. They _asked_ you to come. And look at how much everyone here loved it!”

Elliott huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of his face that immediately fell back to where it had been. “That’s because everyone here knows me. It’s a small town. Do you really think anybody would criticize me to my face when they had to see me every day?”

“Do you really think people are only kind out of obligation?”

Elliott frowned. Bit his lip. Returned to the coat, which he had now refolded twice. “Thank you for helping me pack up,” he murmured, and though he was obviously changing the subject, he seemed distracted. Distracted by more than his impending trip.

Emilia braced herself. If she didn’t bring it up now, if she didn’t try to pry the answer out of him _now_ , she’d lose her nerve. She’d never know. “You’re in love.” It wasn’t a question.

Elliott turned to her, eyes wide with panic. She watched him try to shift his face to a neutral expression; he failed miserably. He’d never been a good liar. “W-what makes you say that?” he stammered, face flushed.

Emilia ticked her points off on her fingers. “You’ve been a complete airhead lately. You’ve been having more difficulty with your poetry. All the poetry you _do_ deign to share with me is describing the same person.” She thought wistfully of the subject’s flowing hair, her brown eyes that “reflected his soul” or whatever romantic nonsense he had written about. She couldn’t imagine who it was, as the description didn’t match anybody in town.

She wished, so terribly, that it was her.

“You’ve finally _found_ it, and I’m so happy for you, but I just,” and she stopped, feeling tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. She would not cry, not in front of him. He couldn’t know how she felt, because how she felt didn’t matter if he was happy. “I just wish you had told me!” she said, her words cut off by a hiccup.

Elliott’s face went from startled, to confused, to, annoyingly, amusement. “So you’ve concluded that I am in love, and you wish to know the identity of this mystery woman.”

“Yes!” Emilia cried. “You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to tell me these things. But I can forgive you,” she laughed, conscious still of her wet eyes, “if you tell me right now.”

Elliott had left her side at the bed and was messing around with the piano, playing notes without any discernable tune. “By the way you accused me so, I thought you knew. I will admit that I am in love, but surely you can figure it out.”

“If I had figured it out, I would have said that first. Just tell me, Elliott. You know I’m no good at riddles.”

“It’s not a riddle. I truly thought my feelings were made plain, and she was merely too kind to tell me she didn’t feel the same way.”

So he hadn’t _told_ her yet. That wasn’t super helpful information in discerning her identity, but still interesting. “I don’t see how she couldn’t,” Emilia muttered, and though she thought it was low enough he wouldn’t hear, she saw Elliott’s smirk at her remark. He stopped messing with the piano, finally looking right at her.

“She’s the most radiant creature in this valley,” he said, taking a step toward her, then another, and another, each slow, purposeful. “She is clever, and kind, and in the short span of our acquaintance, made me into a better man than I thought possible.” He was in front of her now, on his knees, though he was so tall this meant their eyes were level now. It was his turn to take her hands, enveloping both of them in his and bringing them to chest. “And I would be hers, if she would have me.”

Emilia took a shaky breath. “Then you should go tell her,” she whispered.

Elliott’s smile faltered. “I… Emilia, do you not understand what I’m saying?”

“Uh, not really.”

Elliott dissolved into a fit of laughter, so strong that he began to snort and gasp for breath. Emilia had never seen him laugh so hard before, and wasn’t sure what the joke was. “I’m sorry, was what I said funny?”

This only made Elliott laugh harder, and he sat himself next to her when he finally gained composure. “Emilia, it’s _you_. I’m _trying_ to confess my love to _you_. I have been writing poetry about _you_ ,” he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She felt fire where his fingers brushed against her cheek. “And I had thought that maybe you didn’t feel the same. I didn’t know that you didn’t _get it_.”

“You love me,” she said, slowly, not quite believing it. “You love me?”

“Everyone in this town knew, except for you, apparently.” He chuckled, letting his hand linger under her chin. “So let me ask you, in clearer words. Will you do me the honor of allowing me to love you, and be loved in turn?”

Emilia’s thoughts were swirling as she processed all this information. Elliott was in love, and with _her_. The man she’d slowly fallen in love with over the past year, the man she was grateful to just have in her life in any capacity, wanted _her_.

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, just a soft brush of her lips, and smiled. “I thought you would never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> i am Yearning and needed some elliott content to distract me from my larger fic in progress. hope you enjoyed this fluff! <3


End file.
